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A small fire in a dumpster at the Mountain View Apartments Senior Center prompted firefighters to respond to the adult day care service at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning, but a sprinkler system extinguished the flames before they arrived.

“They worked as they’re supposed to,” said Capital City Fire/Rescue Firefighter John Krebsbach, the shift captain at the downtown station at the time. “That’s why they’re there.”

Krebsbach said there were no injuries and only minor water damage to the some of the floors of the building, 895 W. 12th St.

He speculated one of the residents probably dumped an ashtray with hot embers down the garbage chute, eventually catching fire.

The chutes dump trash into the dumpster, located inside a locked room on the ground level. Residents don’t have access to the dumpster room, and there’s a garbage chute on each floor.

Light smoke had traveled up to the second and third floors, and firefighters ventilated the building and ensured the fire was extinguished before returning to service.